University of FloridaNam Ho Kim University of FloridaGAINSVILLE, FL, 32611(352) 846-0665 Nonprofit college or university

Abstract

IFOS will demonstrate the feasibility of a minimalistic, yet powerful, distributed network of piezoelectric actuators and ultrasonic wave detecting fiber optic Bragg grating (FBG) sensors interrogated by a high frequency parallel processing FBG interrogator together with innovative mathematical and computational algorithms to process, store and visualize (via damage index maps) massive amounts of data generated from said system to enable quantitative structural health monitoring of Naval assets (ships and aircraft). The goal is development of a complete and detailed assessment of the material or structural condition well before any visible signs of deterioration develop by using a permanently installed network of FBG sensors and actuators and interrogating them only during scheduled stops or during scheduled maintenance intervals. The initial focus will be on material state accuracy rather than computational speed. In Phase I, IFOS will develop a lab bench prototype material state awareness distributed network of sensors and actuators. In Phase II, IFOS will scale up the system to enable interrogation of structures with much greater size and with much more diverse structural details such as structural ribs, stiffeners and bulkheads as well as complex composite construction such as sandwich core or rib stiffened structures.